Vision of a PlayGarden for disabled children is beginning to sprout

Published 10:00 pm, Wednesday, November 12, 2003

Children whose lives are limited physically will find no barriers to fun as they enter a world of hands-on therapeutic gardening at the Seattle Children's PlayGarden.

Children whose lives are limited physically will find no barriers to fun as they enter a world of hands-on therapeutic gardening at the Seattle Children's PlayGarden.

Vision of a PlayGarden for disabled children is beginning to sprout

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Too often they can only watch activities. Even digging in the soil to plant a garden is too difficult. Children with physical and mental disabilities cannot always participate as much as they would enjoy.

Her dream is about to come true. The PlayGarden will be installed in the Mount Baker neighborhood, with groundbreaking scheduled for spring. There is no estimated opening date as yet.

Children whose lives may otherwise be limited will be able to dig in the dirt, plant, water and tend. The marvels of a nasturtium seed germinating will not be limited to a milk carton on the windowsill of a classroom. The whole wide world will be theirs, worms and all.

"One of the really attractive things about this is that it's designed for all," says Daniel Winterbottom, landscape architect for the project. "The needs of the children don't vary, but their abilities do."

Winterbottom is an associate professor of landscape architecture at the University of Washington. Through his business, Winterbottom Design, he has created two initial designs with the same vision: a public place for children with disabilities and their friends to play and garden together. "That's what we're pursuing here, a place to intermingle and explore these things and each other together."

Leave it to adults to find ways for children to learn while they play in a treehouse, swing on a front porch and have fun getting dirty. There will be six gardens within the PlayGarden, and the pathways among them will be made of different materials, to help teach children in wheelchairs or those with limited walking ability how to maneuver the course.

"I've always loved working with kids outdoors," Gallagher says. "And I have also listened to parents talk about how hard it is to find facilities for kids with special needs and how hard it is to just take them to the park."

"I was taken with the idea and felt totally compelled to research it," she says. "And I kept thinking, 'Why don't we have something like this in Seattle?' " This would be an amazing place to go for a therapist doing home-based or community-based therapy."

The irresistible becomes sanctioned at the PlayGarden. Playing in the water is OK: Water tables provide access where children in wheelchairs can pull right up and splash themselves and one another. A water wall takes the place of a sprinkler, offering just the spot to run or wheel through, for that full-soaking effect.

The ideas of play and garden are closely linked in both conceptual plans by Winterbottom.

"One has a treehouse with a ramp," he explains. "Different perceptions make them feel they are up in the tree, while making it safe and comfortable. Able-bodied kids will love it just as much. It's unlimited imagination!"